Daydreamer
by TheNerd-Within
Summary: While the pack was busy, Derek wolfed down (ha!) a huge gulp, and then wiped his mouth with one hand and smiled at Stiles. "Thanks." "No problem, Sourwolf. Somebody's got to keep the pups hydrated." Derek looked at Stiles while taking another long sip from his glass. "And you always seem to be that somebody."
1. Stiles

Stiles was rifling around in the kitchen, looking for the ingredients to make his famous Stilinski's Kickass Lemonade (okay, he can admit that the name needed work, but the lemonade was still awesome) while listening to the Pack train outside. He could hear Erica's teasing/flirting banter with Boyd and Scott scolding Isaac to try to actually hit him this time. All he could hear from Derek was snarls and the tell-tale sound of a body hitting a tree (Peter). He knew that Alison would be off to the side, shooting arrow after arrow into the makeshift werewolf dummies the Pack had made for her. Lydia would still be on the porch swing, impatiently huffing about Stiles taking too long to get her the glass of lemonade she so kindly (not) requested.

Stiles finally found the ingredients he was looking for amongst all of the chips and junk food the Pack had been forcing into Derek's newly remodeled cupboards all summer. After quickly making up enough for everyone, he poured some into glasses, put them on a tray, and hurried outside (he did not want to risk Lydia's wrath.)

After handing a huffing Lydia her glass after a bow and muttering "Milady," Stiles called out,

"Lemonade!"

The pack quickly stopped their fighting and rushed onto the porch, tripping and pushing each other to be the first one to grab a glass (Stiles swears he saw Scott push Jackson out of the way when he meant to move in front of Isaac.).

Derek, however, was the first one to reach the porch and held out a hand to stop the others when it looked like they were going to rush the tray, even if they had to knock Stiles out of the way to do it.

He grabbed the first two glasses off of the tray and then maneuvered Stiles out of the way, leaving the rest of the lemonade to the Pack's mercy.

While the pack was busy, Derek wolfed down (ha!) a huge gulp, and then wiped his mouth with one hand and smiled at Stiles.

"Thanks."

"No problem, Sourwolf. Somebody's got to keep the pups hydrated."

Derek looked at Stiles while taking another long sip from his glass.

"And you always seem to be that somebody."

Stiles reddened and looked away. He knew that he put a lot into the Pack, but it was his way of feeling needed. He knew he wasn't one of the superhuman werewolves, or a badass huntress, or even a genius like Lydia. But, he could take care of everyone and make sure that someone was looking after the small things.

"I just like to make sure that everyone is happy."

Derek chose this moment to step closer, blocking Stiles from the view of the rest of the Pack. He leaned down and said

"With you looking out for us, that is never going to be a problem."

Stiles looked up at Derek and saw that he was staring back at him with a small smile. He knew that his Dad and Scott loved him, and that, of course, he had the pack, but he had never had someone look at him the way that Derek was. He was looking at him with happiness, pride, and a warmth that he couldn't quite name. Without thinking, Stiles straightened up and pressed his lips against Derek's.

Derek stood still for a moment, and then pulled Stiles in closer with a deft hand behind his head.

They kissed for several moments until Stiles had to pull away from lack of oxygen.

He panted for a couple of seconds and then beamed at Derek.

"Why don't we let the Pups go home and then keep doing that forever? Or at least until I have to head home to make dinner for my dad?"

Derek seemed to ponder Stiles suggestion, and then smirked.

"Being the gentleman that I am, I don't put out before I've at least been taken out to dinner first."

….

"…..Stiles. Stiles!"

Stiles looked up to a snapping finger and a slightly irated Derek.

"Huh?"

Derek just rolled his eyes and stated, "I was saying, before you spaced out, thank you for the Lemonade. The pack needed a break from training."

Stiles stared at him for a couple of seconds and then responded, "No problem. Lydia was the one who came up with the idea, anyway."

Derek nodded and jumped off the porch onto the ground, calling that break was over, back to training.

Everyone went grumbling back to their previous positions and resumed their drills.

Stiles went to go sit next to Lydia, trying to clear his head of the momentary fantasy that had popped into it.

Lydia smirked as he sat down and asked coyly, "Another scenario where Derek professes his love for you?"

"No. We just kissed in this one."

Lydia glared at Stiles.

"When are you ever going to admit your feelings to him?"

Stiles felt eyes on him from the yard and ducked his head, flushing.

"Never."


	2. Derek

As Derek fought off Peter's oncoming attacks, he listened to the sounds of his pack training. Erica was once again, not doing the drills she was assigned but was instead teasing Boyd as he dodged Jackson's strikes. He knew the she-wolf was hoping to put his second-in-command off his game, but with the ease Boyd was showing in his fighting, her teasing seemed to do little but provide an opportunity for Boyd to display his ever-growing abilities. Isaac and Scott were also failing at their assigned exercise, but for an entirely different reason. For the umpteenth time, Scott was scolding Isaac for his inability to actually hit him with anything remotely resembling aggression. Though Isaac was a touch gentler in his dealings with the others in the Pack, he could usually train well with anyone other than Scott. Derek believed that this had to do with the growing emotions between the two betas. He didn't know what kind of attachment they were forming, but he did know that if it continued to deepen, he would need to talk to both of them to make sure that they were both ready for something after the emotional mishap that was, as Stiles dubbed it, the "Scallison Fiasco."

Though the Pack seemed to be on level ground now, he did not want another relationship to shift any of the hard-won dynamics. After all of the upheaval that followed Scott and Allison's relationship, bringing them into the fold had been an uphill battle. But in the end, the Pack was much stronger with them both and as they seemed to have moved on from each other, everyone was able to become something resembling a family.

So seeing Scott and Isaac bickering while training at the same time as watching Allison shoot arrow after arrow into the fake werewolf dummies the Pack had specifically made for her, made him feel very proud as an Alpha and as someone who has watched these kids face every obstacle imaginable.

Snapping back to reality as Peter rushed him again; Derek snarled and rammed him into a tree. Hearing the tell-tale thump and groan as Peter slammed into the hard trunk, Derek stepped away from him and gave him time to recuperate from the hit.

A noise from inside the kitchen pulled his interest. Stiles. He could hear him rummaging around in the kitchen slamming cupboards and humming under his breath. By the sound and smell, it seemed he was making lemonade. Even though he swore up and down that his lemonade was special, the Pack could tell that he followed the simple recipe of squeezing lemons into a pitcher and then adding sugar, water, and ice. They let him get away with the claim because he always seemed so happy to be "contributing" while they trained.

Derek listened to Stiles finish making the drinks and then carry them out to the porch. He watched him hand Lydia a drink first with a sarcastic little bow and her react with a half-hearted swat aimed at him which he dodged.

"Lemonade!"

The rest of the Pack quickly stopped their drills and ran towards the porch and its offered treats. Knowing that if he didn't get there fast enough, he might not get a drink, Derek quickly put on a burst of speed and reached the porch first. He grabbed two drinks and Stiles and pulled them safely away from the rest of the group.

After handing Stiles one of the glasses, he took a drink and watched Stiles do the same. Stiles seemed to him to be lost in his own head, not even looking at Derek. He had been doing this a lot lately whenever it was just the two of them.

Out of all of his Pack, Stiles was the one that he couldn't get close to. After all of the shit that went down with the Kanima and then the Alpha Pack, Stiles had become someone that Derek could depend on. It took so much for him to trust and Stiles, even though he was an asshole and threatened to run him over with his jeep, had never let him down. He had even been willing to cut off Derek's arm to save his life. Derek had thought that once the Pack settled and everyone found their place that Stiles would settle as well and understand his importance. He was not a token human, as he liked to call himself, but rather he was the boy that had saved all of their asses too many times to count. He took care of them and kept them together through sheer force of will. But rather than knowing this, Stiles had seemed to try and become their errand boy and "Pack Mom" as Erica teasingly called him. He attempted to create a place for himself through making himself somewhat indispensable to the betas and even Derek. The rest of the Pack accepted Stiles' self-made role and had started to take advantage of it. Derek, on the other hand, kept trying to get closer to Stiles so that he could reassure him that he did not have to work himself to the bone to be part of the Pack. He was not "Pack Mom"; he was Stiles, an important human member of the Hale Pack.

His attempts to bond with Stiles, however, never seemed to do well. Stiles, for whatever reason, had suddenly started to pull away from Derek and an awkward strain had taken over their interactions. He had tried to talk to Scott, as he was Stiles' best friend, but he claimed to have no knowledge of what was making Stiles act so strange. Lydia was not much help either. When he asked her she just leveled him with a steely look for a couple of seconds and then snapped her attention back to her book on magic with an offhanded

"Sometimes Derek, you make me think that I should just become Alpha because if you paid as much attention to the members of the Pack as you do your own love life we are all doomed."

Whatever that meant.

Shaking off his reverie, Derek downed the rest of his drink and said to Stiles,

"Thanks for the Lemonade."

When Stiles continued to just look at him with no recognition in his face, he held up his fingers and snapped to get his attention.

"Stiles. Stiles!"

"Huh?"

Stiles seemed to snap out of whatever his mind had wandered off to. He probably was thinking of more things he could do for the Pack. Derek rolled his eyes at the thought.

"I was saying, before you spaced out, thank you for the Lemonade. The pack needed a break from training."

Stiles just stared at him for a couple of seconds, almost searching for an unknown response, and then responded,

"No problem. Lydia was the one who came up with the idea, anyway."

Not knowing what else to say, Derek just nodded and then jumped off the porch calling for the rest of the Pack to resume training.

As he was readying his body to receive an attack from Peter, he heard Stiles walk over to Lydia and her ask him ""Another scenario where Derek professes his love for you?"

What?

"No. We just kissed in this one."

Stiles had been daydreaming about him? About them kissing and Derek professing his love for him? Stiles had feelings for him? Is this what had made Stiles pull away?

"When are you ever going to admit your feelings to him?"

Derek actually looked at Stiles for the answer to this. He saw Stiles briefly glance in his direction and then duck his head.

"Never."


	3. Lydia

Lydia Martin was not one to stand for her friends being unhappy unless she was the one making them so. This is why she was fed up with Stiles and Derek circling around each other. She had known almost down to the hour when Stiles started feeling something other than anger and fear towards Derek. She could see when he finally softened and noticed how much of a true Alpha Derek had begun to become.

Derek, on the other hand, had taken longer for her to ascertain his true feelings. For the longest time, she had believed that he did not feel anything for Stiles except for a mixture of fondness, annoyance, and worry. But, when Stiles started pulling away from him because of his fear over his feelings being noticed, she observed Derek becoming grumpier every time Stiles would shut down around him or leave early after a pack meeting. Derek had even come to her to ask for the reasons behind Stiles' pulling back. Sick and tired of the boys' inability to just confront their feelings; she finally decided to do something about the situation.

She had watched Stiles and Derek interact after Stiles' had made everyone lemonade and she had seen the tension from both of them. Stiles once again daydreamed about Derek and then when he realized what he had been doing, pulled back from the conversation and all but ran away. Derek still not understanding why Stiles was acting the way he did, did the same. Making sure to keep Derek in her line of sight, she deliberately brought up Stiles' feelings knowing that Derek would be able to hear.

"Another scenario where Derek professes his love for you?"

"No. We just kissed in this one."

Lydia glared at Stiles. She knew she should be sticking to the plan, but damn these boys were annoying! She just wanted to shoot them both.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Derek's head snap up and whip around to look at them both. This got her back onto the task at hand.

"When are you ever going to admit your feelings to him?"

Derek's whole body stilled, waiting for the answer just as much as she was.

"Never."

Stiles just seemed to deflate into the porch swing with this answer. Derek on the other hand, just looked thoughtful. Hopefully now that he knew about Stiles' feelings, he would do something about it and end the horrible tension. The stress on the pack was definitely not good for her complexion.

Lydia stormed into the Hale house.

"DEREK! Get your insufferable Alpha ass down here!"

Derek came down the stairs with a glare on his face.

"What now, Lydia?"

Derek's casual indifference just served to enrage her more.

"Don't you 'what now, Lydia' me! I know you heard me talking to Stiles about his feelings for you. I expected you to have done something about it by now. It's been two weeks, Derek! Two weeks! What is keeping your stubborn behind from making a move? Are you really that dens-? "

Derek's face underwent a series of emotions in the short time it took her to rant at him. First annoyance, then apprehension, and finally just plain old fear. This made her pause.

"What's going on, Derek? Don't tell me you are afraid of admitting your feelings for Stiles? He's 18, legal, and obviously in love with you. The pack is good, the Sheriff actually likes you. What is holding you back?"

Derek rubbed a hand over his face and sighed.

"I wasn't aware that I had feelings for Stiles until two weeks ago…"

Lydia froze for a second and then smiled calmly at him.

"I'm sorry, I must have misheard you. I thought you just said you weren't aware that you were in love with Stiles until you heard the results of my ingenious actions. But, that obviously couldn't be right seeing as you let Stiles get away with almost anything, are territorial every time someone even goes near him, and you practically rip the packs' head off when they make him upset."

Lydia just looked at Derek and watched him start to get flustered. He looked away and fidgeted, finally looking back at her and sighing once more.

"I…I just thought that…." Derek started to say, and then trailed off. If possible, he looked even more weary and miserable than he had before.

"I don't know what I've been thinking. Every time I've thought of Stiles and me relationship wise, I just told myself that he was another member of the pack. I didn't know that Stiles felt anything towards me and then he started acting cagey and never wanting to be around me."

"So, you've been what? Using these last two weeks to confront your feelings? Do you know how hard I've worked at trying to get Stiles to admit his emotions to you? I finally had to give up and just get him to admit them where you could hear, and then you tell me you didn't know that you had feelings for HIM? I swear to god, I need to stage a revolt and become Alpha myself. The others in the pack would stand behind me, they are as equally tired of you two and your drama as I am."

At this Derek huffed lightly and muttered, "Well, if someone would have told me about Stiles maybe I would have done something about it sooner."

Lydia just rolled her eyes and started to leave. She turned around when she got to the door.

"You better get your shit together and go talk to Stiles. I am not going to go through another school year watching him be upset over you. If you don't want to be with him, fine. I know plenty of guys who do." At this she flounced out of the house, closing the door to Derek growling and by the sound of it, probably punching a wall. Well, if that didn't motivate him to get his ass in gear, then she would have to go through with her promise and set Stiles up.

Hmm...didn't Danny just break up with his boyfriend?


	4. Danny (Part 1)

Danny knew that his friends were nuts. He was part of a werewolf pack, so most things didn't faze him anymore, but Lydia the Monday after Spring Break made him a little uneasy. He couldn't pinpoint it for most of the morning. She had been acting fairly normal, being her usual brilliant and scary self, but he could just tell that some plan was brewing behind all that red hair of hers. And when it came to a Lydia Martin plan, it usually meant trouble for him.

His suspicions were proven right in Physics.

Lydia and Stiles were usually joined at the hip since he stopped worshipping her and became her new BFF or something. Danny still didn't get how that whole thing happened, but whatever. He hadn't been playing close attention what with his own best friend turning into a weird lizard thing and killing people and then dying in the middle of a lacrosse game.

The weirdness started when Lydia walked into class, as instead of claiming her usual seat next to Stiles, she took the seat next to Alison which was empty due to Scott staying home to recuperate from an especially intense full moon the night before. (Apparently Derek had been extra Sour Wolf lately and had kept the pack up all night in the woods running.)

Now Danny was going to ignore the seat next to Stiles and sit in his usual spot next to Chase from Lacrosse, but when he passed Lydia she gave him the stink eye and pointedly glanced towards the empty seat. He almost disregarded it, but since he had wondered what she was up to all day he decided to play along. Also he had been partners with Stiles last year in Chem, so it wasn't a big deal if his suspicions turned out to be nothing (they weren't).

Stiles greeted him with an enthusiastic

"Hey man! How was break?"

In fact he was so enthusiastic he almost hit Danny in the face with a flailing fist bump.

Rolling his eyes he fist bumped Stiles and responded

"Good. It was good to see some relatives and go surfing again."

"Ahh…never been. I've always wanted to though."

"If we ever go to the beach I can show you somet-."

Danny went quiet as soon as Harris walked in. He knew Harris would pick on Stiles if he kept talking and wanted to prevent another round of his especially reserved animosity for Stiles or as Lydia calls it, "How can I possibly be more of a dick to Stiles today?"

"Now that first semester is over and we have all had a chance to recover from finals, it's time to pick new partners. I see that some of you have chosen to sit next to different people, and because you were so proactive those will be your partners for the next term. Those of you who haven't, I will assign your partners."

As expected, there was a collective groan among those who had sat next to their old partners. Everyone else let out a quiet sound of happiness at their luck.

Danny turned to look at Lydia to see what she would make of the announcement and found her looking at him and Stiles with a disconcertingly smug expression.

Hmm…he had known she was up to something. Now all he had to do was find out what without being caught up in whatever diabolical scheme she had concocted.

* * *

The next day Danny went over to Stiles' house to brainstorm on the project Harris had assigned that was due in a couple of weeks. The last time he had gone over to work on a project, things had taken an interesting turn, but he didn't think that would be the case again.

When he got there Stiles and he actually worked for a solid 2 hours before calling it quits and going into the kitchen to grab something to eat before settling down to play Halo. Even though they didn't hang out much outside of Pack stuff, Danny was finding that hanging out with Stiles one-on-one was actually kind of fun. He had missed hanging out with another guy since Jackson had been busy training so much.

As they played and ate the sandwiches they had made, Stiles became more and more invested into the game as Danny kept winning. Eventually his inability to flail and eat without making a mess came to a head resulting in half his sandwich landing on Danny's shirt and sliding down his front.

"Shit, man! I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get it all over you."

Danny just looked down at his ruined shirt and then shrugged. Pulling it off and throwing it at Stiles, he got up and started to go up the stairs.

"Since you were the one to mess up my shirt, I am just going to borrow one of yours."

He went into Stiles' room and started to look through his drawers, searching for something to wear.

Just as he pulled out something, he heard the window slide up and someone come in saying,

"Stiles, I think we need to tal-…"

Danny turned around and saw that it was Derek and he was looking at him in confusion.

Just then, Stiles called up jokingly

"Get a shirt on! The night is still too early for semi-nudity."

Danny watched Derek's face change at that. He went from confusion to understanding and then hurt.

"Ummm…Derek, I don't know what you are thinking now, but Stiles and I were just..."

"Oh, no it's fine. You don't need to explain. I just wanted to talk to Stiles about some Pack business. I'll leave you guys alone and talk to him later."

And with that, he was out the window.

Danny had no idea what had just happened, but he had a feeling that it had something to do with why Lydia was acting so weird earlier. He was intrigued, now that he knew it involved Derek and Stiles, and determined to see what she was up to.


End file.
